One of two Annapolis multiplexes and probably one of the Washington, DC area’s better run, yet lesser known venues. This venue opened in 1999 along with the new food court at Westfield’s Annapolis Mall.

The venue boasts state of the art digital sound systems (Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS), digital projection in #10 and #11 and THX certification currently in #1 (the largest and best of the 11), #2 and #9.

After a long break, I’ve started going to the movies again. I saw Deadpool in #1, my favorite auditorium. Sound was great as the movie was in 7.1. The auditorium was surprisingly attracting FAMILIES. I know the R rated movies will allow kids with an adult, but there were a number of under 6 kids that I saw going up the stadium seats. Given the amount of violence, nudity and spicy language, what parent would have their young kids in tow to see this, other than the low $6 club price.

The new popcorn is quite good, if pricey. I like the cheesy one as opposed to the sweet sticky one.

I don’t know about the ‘family’ run blurb that they’re running. Customer Service still is lacking. You need better greeters, more REAL hellos and thank you for comings. Maybe they mean to say Bow Tie gives you that dysfunctional family experience. :)

I caught the latest Star Trek: Beyond the other week in #2. I missed opening weekend due to work commitments, the first time I’ve missed a Trek movie opening weekend ever..some 37 years. :P Since 2 was one of the original THX cert auditoriums, the experience was great. The 3D presentation didn’t seem to work right, not from a technical sense, but from the experience. Since a good portion of the movie takes place in a darkened destroyed Enterprise, whats the point of 3D?

Tonight, I saw the ‘Ben-Hur’ remake in #8. Though not a favorite auditorium, the sound and picture were excellent, if only the movie was better.

I can’t believe my drink cost about as much as my movie ticket. At least the concession stand person was friendly, the ticket taker was not. They may as well replace him with a robotic idiot to just tell me where my movie was going to show. That, I can see on my ticket.

I can remember 10 years ago the place was converted to digital projection. No spots, flickering or other film detractions today.

With the proliferation of self service kiosks, I can see the coming end of the traditional ticket booth. The kiosks are right there so there’s no need to go to the other end of the food court to buy your tickets.

The other night I saw the Madea Halloween movie in #1. The sound mix was terrific. At the start of the frat party scene, I could’ve sworn that the people to the left of me were chatting. I kept looking at them and they were silent. After listening more closely, it was the sound effect that the characters onscreen would be experiencing with people talking beyond a wall. The ‘ghostly’ sound effect of someone speaking could be heard rear left and then travel right. The best sound effect was the sudden ‘boom’ thunder clap during the scene when the lights went out. It was a 1-2-3 punch of surround sound multiple effect and deep bass boom for the thunder. After the ‘scare’ I began to think it could’ve been made better with a more thunderous crackle like the real thing.

I think this is the first or second time I’ve seen a Madea movie in the theater. It never really appealed to me much but after seeing the rotation of movies on cable, over the years, and the funny preview, it seemed worth a viewing. I think the frat boys were wrongly cast. They look more like 30something then late teen or early 20something fraternity brothers. Then there’s the preachy subject matter(s) that went too long, imho. As usual, the outtakes during the credits were funny and of the usual flubbed lines and ad libs. :)

Caught Star Wars: Rogue One in #1 on a Tues matinee ($6!). Nothing special to report since this is a Star Wars flick and sound effects; explosions, music, dialog were first rate. Picture was sharp, non 3D. Need to see it in IMAX 3D. :)

They have reclining seats in the lobby to inform patrons of an impending remodel. I hope this does not mean a steep price increase. They need to make the screens bigger now. Maybe put in their version of IMAX by combining the end auditoriums.

I saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 in #9 during a matinee. Very good presentation and sound separation. This is one of the 3 formerly THX cert auditoriums.

They’ve begun upgrades to the left side of the theaters, starting with #1 the big THX house. Looking at the showtimes for the upcoming May blockbusters, it appears the remodeling will not be complete by the end of May. :( I was hoping to see Alien: Covenant in #1 but will probably see it in one of the IMAX-lite venues when it opens.

While the recliner seats are nice in any theater, over time, they will break due to use and abuse. I hope this isn’t a means to jack up admission prices. Ads tout future full food menus. Given the fact, the food court is just downstairs, I wonder about the wisdom of presumably overpriced food at the theater.

I caught ‘Birth of the Dragon’ in the remodeled #6. The new faux leather seats are quite comfortable though not as wide as Brandywine. They have numbered swing out trays for what I assume will be table side service. With the new seat installs, there is reduced capacity. The seats have that flip switch on the left that extends the foot rest. I’m just wondering how soon it will take for these seats get broken.

Unfortunately, it appears they didn’t do anything with the screen. With the decent sightline and raised floor level, one would think a larger, immersive screen would’ve sealed the deal even in this smaller auditorium. They played the Dolby 7.1 trailer but the sound didn’t seem as strong as before. Not sure if it was just a volume thing or the plusher, larger seats may be more sound absorptive?

The movie was quite good. I had missed seeing what I wanted to see but was pleasantly surprised how this movie turned out. The fighting styles show its influence on more recent flicks such as Star Wars and the Matrix series.

1 has reopened as a BTX auditorium. I was able to experience it today with the booking of the 40th anniversary release of Close Encounters. Even as I walked in, the place is still undergoing renovations the most being a new upgrade concessions area. The left entrance is still being worked on.

The auditorium appears to be the same size but I could swear the screen has a slight curvature to it now but am not sure. There are led-type lights attached to the speakers in the ceiling. The side speakers are turned in but angular facing the audience. I was thinking before they were just flat on the walls. The seats are the new faux leather recliners and the swing out enumerated trays. Very nice. Cup holders hold their largest drink. I know since I used it :P

They play the Dolby cinema trailer. No 7.1 sound trailer like #6. I’m guessing there wasn’t time. There wasn’t a BTX trailer though I don’t know if one exists. The sound is loud and booming, screen is clear with no artifacts. They played the Blade Runner 2049 trailer and it blows the AFIs 70mm version away. Jared Leto’s character looks more menacing in the 4K crispness but he’s too good looking to believe as the bad guy. Tuesday $10 prices is a bargain. As feared, the normal adult price is now $15 :P

The movie seemed squished. The spaceship didn’t look quite right because of the seemingly squeezed picture. John Williams score comes through stirringly but not modern day crisp. The soundtrack is clear no doubt but its as if you’re listening to an old fashioned LP. Having not seen it in its original release, I can’t say if its better now then it was then. I’ll defer to the comments of others who have seen it in 70mm in its original release. I’m wondering with the recent NEW films in 70mm, why they didn’t just re-release it in fresh 70mm prints. I could be wrong but since Trumbull filmed the VFX in 65mm, I’m thinking they may have transferred over to the actual 70mm release print instead of being blown up from 35mm.

Lastly, the THX plaque that proudly centered the entrance wall is down, hopefully temporarily, while they continue construction. :)

VFX= Visual Effects, Howard. You’re right about it not being filmed in 65mm. What I was trying to say is that the Visual Effects Supervisor, Doug Trumbull, was known to film visual effects in 65mm. 2001, this film, Star Trek and Blade Runner’s VFX were shot in 65mm..done by Trumbull.

I was thinking about seeing the CE3K rerelease at the Uptown but judging by the posts, the venue isn’t what it used to be nowadays. :(